West 86th Street B/C Station Closes For Repairs

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The West 86th Street and Central Park West subway station closed Monday for at least six months as the MTA begins to renovate the station, the transit authority announced.

The West 86th Street station is one of three Upper West Side B/C stations being renovated as part of the MTA's Enhanced Stations Initiative. The Enhanced Stations Initiative includes structural repairs and cosmetic fixes such as new stairs, floors, countdown clocks and LED lighting. The station is expected to reopen by the end of the year.

"We appreciate our customers' patience while we do these critical repairs and improvements," NYC Transit President Andy Byford said in a statement.

"These temporary closures will prepare these stations for decades of continued service. We're deploying customer service personnel to help riders through this transition and will hold the contractor to the aggressive work schedule."

The West 110th Street B/C station in Frederick Douglass Circle closed in early April and the West 72nd Street station closed on May 7. Service on the M10 bus line, which runs along the route of the B/C trains, has been increased during the renovations, the MTA said.

When the West 110th Street Station closed, Upper West Side and Harlem politicians called the MTA's Enhanced Stations Initiative a blown opportunity. Politicians and advocates criticized the program for failing to upgrade subway service and failing to make the stations accessible to all passengers. Officials also decried a lack of community outreach done by the MTA before announcing the station closures.

"This kind of renovation is done once a generation if you're lucky," City Councilman Mark Levine said during the April rally. "And we're blowing this opportunity to do it right."

Photo by Google Maps street view